Abstract

CORRALES VARELA, Ariel I et al. Clinical and Epidemiological Aspects of Bacterial Meningitis: "Abel Santamaría "and "León Cuervo Rubio" hospitals.2002-2006. Rev Ciencias Médicas [online]. 2008, vol.12, n.2, pp. 39-47. ISSN 1561-3194.

A descriptive study was performed from 2002 _ 2006 in 117 patients with a bacterial meningoencephalitis diagnosis being discharged alive or death in "Abel Santamaría" or "Leon Cuervo Rubio" hospitals. The non _ parametric statistical X2 testing was used for the statistical validation as well as the hypothesis testing of ratios for independent groups, a fitted value of á=0.05. Most of patients with acute and sub acute bacterial meningoencephalitis were in 15 and 59 year age range decreasing the frequency of the disease with the age advancing , the highest mortality rate was observed at 60 years old or over being considered very significant . The most predisposing factors were: otitis media, acute community pneumonia and sinusitis, some of them partially treated or not. Fever, headache, neck stiffness and consciousness disorders were the most frequent symptoms and signs and the absence of fever, the occurrence of vomits, consciousness disorders, convulsions, and other meningeal signs and petechiae were considered as a bad prognosis. The most frequent complications were cerebral edema, nosocomial acute pneumonia and acute respiratory failure no associated to SIRPA having all of them very significant statistical differences and leading to a probable death. The etiological agents were: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Neisseria meningitides and Haemophilus influenzae. In most of cases given antibiotic therapy before diagnosis the culture was negative.

Keywords : Bacterial Meningoencephalitis; Epidemiology; Hospital Stay; Descriptive Epidemiology; Bacterial Meningitis; Microbiology.

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